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EDITOR DIES FROM SHOT WOUNDS

26 November 2002

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Ram Chander Chaterpatti, the editor of a newspaper in India's northern state of Haryana, died on 23 November from wounds sustained a month earlier when he was shot by a suspected member of a religious sect. Chaterpatti, 52, was shot four times outside his home on 24 October by an unidentified man reported to be part of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, says Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF). He died in a New Delhi hospital.

The shooting is believed to be in response to articles Chaterpatti wrote for the daily "Poora Sach" (The Whole Truth) about the sect's illegal activities, including an alleged sex scandal. The journalist had been threatened in the past for reporting on the sect's activities, RSF notes.

While four individuals have been arrested, RSF has urged authorities to thoroughly investigate the crime and bring those responsible to justice.

Chaterpatti is the third journalist killed in India this year, RSF says. On 14 April, "Jansatta Express" reporter Paritosh Pandey was murdered in the northern city of Lucknow after he published articles about local organised crime. On 13 October, television journalist Yambem Meghajit Singh was tortured and killed in the northeastern state of Manipur after reportedly criticising separatist groups and local officials on a television programme.

For more information on Chaterpatti, see: www.rsf.org">http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=4384">www.rsf.org

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